Connecticut voters disapprove 49 - 43 percent of the job Sen. Christopher Dodd is doing, his best
score in six months and better than his 52 - 42 percent disapproval July 23, according to a
Quinnipiac University poll released today.

Sen. Dodd now trails former U.S. Rep. Rob Simmons, a possible Republican challenger in
the 2010 Senate race, 44 - 39 percent, also an improvement from his 48 - 39 percent deficit in a
July 23 survey by the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University.

Connecticut voters say 51 - 40 percent that Dodd is not honest and trustworthy and 59
percent say their opinion of Dodd is not changed after a Senate committee cleared Dodd of
violating Senate rules in the V.I.P. mortgage deal.

"Sen. Christopher Dodd's approval keeps edging up, and he is bringing down his high
negatives. For the first time in six months, his disapproval is under 50 percent, just barely," said
Quinnipiac University Poll Director Doug Schwartz, PhD. "But the incumbent has made only slight
progress against Republican front-runner Rob Simmons. About 40 percent of voters will vote for
anybody but Dodd, as evidenced by their willingness to vote for Republican candidates they
haven't heard of.

"Simmons, the only challenger with any name recognition, gets 44 percent of the vote."

"Dodd's decision to be a leader on health care reform should work in his favor as a
plurality of Connecticut voters like President Obama's health care plan and by a wide margin
trust Obama more than the Republicans to handle the issue," Dr. Schwartz added.

By a 48 - 40 percent margin, Connecticut voters have an unfavorable opinion of Dodd,
also his best score in six months.

Simmons gets a 41 - 11 percent favorability, with 46 percent who don't know enough
about him to form an opinion. For other possible Republican challengers, 81 - 92 percent of
voters don't know enough about them.

Despite the fact that these challengers are unknown, they trail Dodd in possible matchups
by only two to six percentage points.

President Obama's Approval

Connecticut voters approve 57 - 36 percent of the job President Obama is doing, down
from 63 - 32 percent July 23 and his lowest approval in the state since his inauguration.

The President gets an 89 - 7 percent approval from Democrats and a 56 - 37 percent
score from independent voters, while Republicans turn thumbs down 84 - 12 percent.

Voters support Obama's health care plan 47 - 42 percent and split 47 - 45 percent in their
approval of the way he is handling health care.

Connecticut voters support 64 - 30 percent giving people the option to buy health
insurance from a government plan. But by a 68 - 26 percent margin they don't believe Obama's
promise that the health care plan will not add to the deficit.

"Good news for Obama is that Connecticut voters trust him more than congressional
Republicans 54 - 30 percent to handle health care," Schwartz said. "And voters believe 57 - 33
percent that these Republicans want Obama to fail and are not playing a constructive role in
health care reform."

From September 10 - 14, Quinnipiac University surveyed 921 Connecticut registered
voters with a margin of error of +/- 3.2 percentage points. The survey includes 248 Republicans
with a margin of error of +/- 6.2 percentage points and 342 Democrats with a margin of error
of +/- 5.3 percentage points.

The Quinnipiac University Poll conducts public opinion surveys in New York, New Jersey,
Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Florida, Ohio and the nation as a public service and for research.
For more data and RSS feed - http://www.quinnipiac.edu/polling.xml, or call (203) 582-5201.

1. (If registered Democrat) If the 2010 Democratic primary for United States
Senator were being held today and the candidates were Chris Dodd and Merrick
Alpert, for whom would you vote?

2. (If registered Republican) If the 2010 Republican primary for United States
Senator were being held today and the candidates were Rob Simmons, Tom Foley,
Peter Schiff and Sam Caligiuri, for whom would you vote?

TREND: (If registered Republican) If the 2010 Republican primary for United
States Senator were being held today and the candidates were Rob Simmons, Tom
Foley, Peter Schiff and Sam Caligiuri, for whom would you vote?

28. As you may know, a Senate Committee that investigated a V.I.P. mortgage deal
for Chris Dodd has cleared him of breaking Senate rules. Does this make you
think more favorably of Senator Dodd, less favorably, or doesn't it make a
difference?

46. President Obama has pledged that health insurance reform will not add to our
federal budget deficit over the next decade. Do you think that President Obama
will be able to keep his promise or do you think any health care plan that
Congress passes and President Obama signs will add to the federal budget
deficit?

47. Did President Obama's speech to Congress on health care make you more likely
to support his plan, less likely to support his plan, did it make no difference
in your support, or haven't you heard anything about his speech?